This invention relates to component supports and heat sinks for electronic applications, and, more particularly, to a structure that supports electronic components and heat sinks, provides a high-thermal-conductivity path therebetween, and is structurally strong.
In one widely used device architecture, electronic and microwave components are attached to support boards, and the support boards are housed on parallel guides in a chassis. The microelectronic components may be electrically interconnected both on the board, and between boards through electrical contacts at the edges of the boards or sometimes with jumpers between the boards. This general approach allows the components to be organized onto different boards according to their functions, and also allows for the quick replacement of a failed component by replacing the entire board on which the component is located.
For the case of high-power electronic and microwave devices, the limiting consideration in miniaturization and weight reduction of the device is often heat removal. The individual components produce heat, and that heat must be conveyed away so that the temperatures of the components do not exceed their maximum operating temperatures. As the sizes of the components become smaller and they are spaced more closely, the heat removal problem becomes more acute.
Heat may be conducted away from the components to heat sinks, radiators, or other heat dissipation components, or heat may be removed to the surrounding atmosphere. For devices to be used in space or which are located in hermetic packages, heat removal to the atmosphere may not be possible, and heat conduction to heat dissipation components is the only practical approach. Heat conduction requires the use of thermally conductive materials, many of which add substantial weight to the electronic structure. For space applications, weight reduction is a key consideration due to the cost of lifting weight to orbit.
There is therefore an ongoing need for improved electronic device structures which achieve increased heat removal with reduced weight. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.